A yuletide-loving sheriff with a penchant for controversy on Monday announced his “Apparently Annual Politically Incorrect Christmas Tree Trimming Party.”

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden began the event in 2007 to thumb his nose at a Fort Collins task force that recommended no publicly funded holiday displays that favor a single religion. In response, Alderden put up his Christmas tree — funded with private donations — outside the county office and beyond city jurisdiction.

This year’s tree-trimming party is Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Sheriff’s Office at 2501 Midpoint Drive in Fort Collins.

The sheriff’s announcement promised to begin the celebration with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Christmas carols, horse-and-buggy rides and a visit from Santa Claus.

Organizers also will sell T-shirts that state “Lighten Up. Just say ‘Merry Christmas’ ” and “Wishing you a loud and politically incorrect Merry Christmas.” Proceeds support the volunteer sheriff’s posse. The Denver Post

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